This invention relates to an ice cream making apparatus for making ice cream, sherbet, etc. and it particularly relates to a stirring mechanism that mixes a cooled ice cream material approximately uniformly.
In Japanese Utility Model Application No. Sho 62-10836, ice cream is prepared by a rotary member which is supported in a cold storage container to rotate a blade that is inclined downwardly in the counter-rotation direction along the inner surface of the cold storage container. A screw driven by the rotary member is rotatably supported inside a supporting member. That supporting member has been inserted into a through hole that is formed on the bottom of the cold storage container. The ice cream material that has adhered to the inner surface of the container is scraped down by the blade. This scraping occurs along with the cooling of the cold storage container. At the same time, the cooled ice cream material is mixed by the screw that rotates inside the supporting member, thereby preparing ice cream. The prepared ice cream is discharged outside through an opening at the lower end of the supporting member, along with rotation of the screw.
In this conventional ice cream making apparatus, however, it is difficult to introduce the ice cream that has been scraped down from the inner surface of the cold storage container and the ice cream material into the supporting member in the bottom of the container. As a result, it has not been possible to prepare high-grade ice creams with fine texture, with the ice cream material being mixed approximately evenly. In addition, it has not been possible to accurately discharge the ice cream from inside the cold storage container.